The extreme weather that we’ve all been subject to this year has had a severe impact across our historic network of canals and rivers. CRT’s teams are battling to protect our waterways from damage. However, they urgently need our support to permanent damage to any of our precious canals and river navigations.

NABO’s Council has agreed to immediately contribute £250 to this appeal and urges all our members to contribute whatever they can.

See: https://support.canalrivertrust.org.uk/get-involved/appeal/national-canal-flood-appeal/home/donate/donation-form/

Some of the major challenges that CRT is facing right now are:

• Extensive damage to large sections of embankment, towpath and canal-banks
• The River Severn has been in flood for some time and at record levels; many of our structures are submerged and damage is likely to be significant
• In Somerset, our Bridgwater & Taunton Canal has been playing a significant role in efforts to relieve the flooded Somerset plains, but is now itself in flood and sections of towpath have been damaged
• In Wales, the heavy rain has caused serious damage to two much-loved canals. We have engineers on site now assessing the impact to the Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal and the Llangollen Canal where embankments have slipped and are being urgently stabilised
• Bridges on the Oxford Canal have been damaged and towpath surfaces have washed away
• There has been extensive flooding on the Grand Union Canal at Leighton Buzzard, the Rickmansworth to Watford stretch, from Cosgrove to Stoke Bruerne, the Aylesbury Arm and the Wendover Arm
• Over 100 trees have fallen across our network in the last 24 hours alone

The full extent of the damage cannot yet be assessed. However, when waters recede CRT expect to see major damage to towpaths, locks and other canal heritage structures and features, which will affect millions of people and cost millions to repair.

CRT’s maintenance teams are currently working around the clock, clearing fallen trees and debris, keeping water moving away from the worst affected areas carrying out repairs wherever possible. CRT resources have never been more stretched and the situation continues to deteriorate day by day.

CRT  are appealing for your help now to enable them to respond to this unprecedented crisis. Your support will help them fund the immediate and longer-term repairs that will be necessary to bring our towpaths and waterways back into use as quickly as possible. Every penny you give will be spent directly and entirely on repairing and protecting flood-affected waterways.